The watching, waiting, perfect stillness, then a perfect reward, the SNAP of the shutter.
Life, I watch and wait, ever ready for the next SNAP, I thirst for it, the desire higher than any other.
After each SNAP, relief washes over me, soon though the urge returns. I am addicted.
Just after New Years I decided to go for a stroll, my house is out in the bush, on a lake. This makes for awesome winter walks and great summer afternoons. I took my camera and tried to capture the -30 degree day as best I could.
The snow was deep, over 3 feet. Every step was work, but every step was worth it. The crevasses in the snow show a frozen world under the snow.
I love the way snow forms. There is a sense of wonder brought on while looking at the shapes created by the snow.
The serpents of winter show themselves. They prefer to hang around on branches during the day. At night they dive back into the frozen depths.
A frosted toad stool. 
I look at her, she smiles, I can’t look away. Life is simple with her, life is for her, and without her I would be nothing, my life would be nothing. I need her, desire her, she is my perfection. Life is her. I hold her close, I love her.
I sit here, staring, blank. My mind, so focused on the world in front of my eyes, I cannot tear myself away. Thoughts elude me, time slows to a crawl. I keep staring, hoping, willing for something to happen. I look away and time jumps, minutes soar by. Pass. Fail?
A four letter word, can I say it?
It haunts me, she is always on my mind.
Her, without I feel empty, she gives me heart, a soul, meaning. I want to tell her with every fibre of me. Life left her, and she will never know, four letter word.
Neiti
I open the door, already a smile on my face, I am home. I see her, a smile erupts on her face, then tears in her eyes, I bring her close. I can feel the weight in my pocket, I kneel and look up. She breaks, death leaves her lips.
There is finally a Lord of The Rings game I can get excited about. It’s called Shadow of Mordor and does it ever look good, the game puts you in the shoes of Talion a warrior of Gondor who while defending the Black Gate (before the events of the movies, before Sauron re-inhabits Mordor) is overrun and killed along with the rest of his battalion. He is then brought back to life by a wraith (similar to the nazgul in the movies) he thus gains the power to move between planes, he can see the wraith world and use wraith like powers in battle but he is still mostly human. The game has RPG elements including a large open world, you must travel throughout the land of Mordor killing your way through the ranks of the orcs, trying to avenge your brethren.
Talion using his wraith powers on an orc
The game looks great with gorgeous visuals, dynamic lighting and a very diverse set of enemies. This is not the most exciting part of the game however, the nemesis system has me most excited. This system promises that enemies will remember you if they manage to get away during a fight. During the demo, Talion is trying to kill off a high ranking orc officer which he battled before (leaving him with a half-burnt face). This event happened earlier in the game and when Talion encountered him for the second time the orc remembered the previous encounter even making a remark about it, this is a promising system because it is based on your actions.
Talion looking out over the massive open world of Mordor
There are a lot of games that brag about how your actions influence the game and your choices are meaningful, however most of those are a limited and either influence the game in one set way or another. In Shadows of Mordor you don’t necessarily make a choice, you simply act and depending on your actions the game will change. This is the kind of influence a player should have, just like in the real world you cannot always foresee the consequences of your actions. If the nemesis systems works as well as Monolith promises then we may see future open world games include a similar system. Imagine the next Elder Scrolls including something like this, where in game characters remember you and your actions and this changes the way they interact with you, more than just a statement or two about how you did that one thing that one time. This is an example of the next generation in gaming.
The one… the only… Dom Hemingway!
An… interesting movie to say the least. To say more, it is quite an adventure, following Dom (Jude Law) on his quest for payment and redemption after 12 years in prison. The obvious star is Dom, he is a fantastic character and perfectly acted by Jude Law, I loved his portrayal of the dynamite Dom Hemingway. The story is a decent one, but it felt like a way to show the different antics of Dom, this movie was built to show us Dom not necessarily to tell a story, or at least thats how it feels. The movie is ridiculous and wild, the first few minutes are Jude Law from the waste up discussing how amazing his penis is, while getting a blowjob. This sets the tone for the whole movie, which is a romp. It felt almost like a Guy Richie movie, although I think this is because of the character Dom, he would fit right in with Snatch or Lock Stock.
Even with a seeming lack of story the movie is still great, and I really enjoyed it. Dom is just way to much fun to watch, and this is true even when he isn’t doing something outrageous. The film is wonderfully written, the dialogue is awesome, listening to Dom spit slurs and insult is perfect. The way Dom talks is great, his accent mixed with a style of language that simply doesn’t suit him is most likely the reason for this. “I’m a peasant at heart, a petty serf, with nice hair and a strong liver” Dom claims, a perfect summation of the man, his eloquent speeches are beautiful and disgusting at the same time.
This mixture of language and brashness is somewhat representative of the whole movie, there are scenes of violence as well as scenes of hilarity and even some which are heartwarming (those come in the latter half). The story didn’t speak very strongly to me but that is simply my opinion, I think I was too caught up in the main character, he really does steal the show and it is so fun to watch him and applaud him for it.
School is coming to close and exams loom in the distance, it is my final year of university and I just finished a week from hell. An assignment due every day of the week, several of them being 3,000+ word essays, not much fun. Anyways I took a weekend off after that brutal week, I watched a new show that a friend recommended to me, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Hilarious! This show is probably my new favourite comedy, rarely do I get hooked so fast, but once I started I couldn’t stop. I watched the whole season in 2 days! This show is about a group of detectives, the lead or main character being played by Andy Samberg. It is a great new show and I highly recommend it.
It’s a genuinely funny and I am glad that more comedies are being created without the need for laugh tracks or other sitcom-esque features. I can’t wait for the next season to start… which unfortunately won’t be until the fall, but at least there is a show to look forward to, since many of the comedies on tv seem to be dwindling (Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Community etc)
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, ever heard of it? I did a while back when it came to theatres, I didn’t give it much thought, I saw the trailer and wasn’t terribly impressed. I noticed it was out, so I watched it, and low and behold it was actually quite a good movie. I’m not the biggest fan of Ben Stiller, but this movie was great and he was great. It was an awesome adventure and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good entertaining movie.
Even though it is a bit of a slow start, trust me it gets better. Some of the scenery and nature shots in this movie really got to me. I wanted to get up and travel, this movie makes you want to have adventures and see the world, to stop living a boring life. I think this was the main point Stiller was trying to get across but at least for me it really resonated.
I also didn’t realize this was directed by Stiller, DAM! He can f”*king direct, I don’t know if it is his first time but he did a great job. If this movie is any indication of his skill he should stop acting altogether and start directing. I honestly never thought he was much of an actor anyways.
How I Met Your Mother concluded this week. It was a decent ending to what used to be a fantastic show. I used to love HIMYM, it was my favourite show, then came the 6th season… ever since it has steadily gone downhill, I still watched every episode and I wanted to love it, but unfortunately I was disappointed an awful lot. This series finale was supposed to bring everything to a close and answer all sorts of questions, but honestly it felt a bit silly in the end. The mother was a great character and she fit in with the gang so well but then she was taken away so quickly it felt stupid. I wanted Ted to be so happy and find his true love and all that stuff, then he finally finds it after 9 seasons, and then she gets taken away in that same episode. I don’t want to say I felt betrayed but it honestly made it feel silly. Ted was meant for Tracy not Robin.
How I Met Your Mother used to be such a great show, unfortunately it made a mistake I think is too often made by American TV, it went on too long. I have watched a lot of different TV shows, and I find with British television often there are too few episodes and seasons, one of the greatest shows ever in my opinion is Faulty Towers, it only had two seasons, two amazing seasons. American television on the other hand, seems to go on too long, The Office came dangerously close to this, HIMYM clearly did this and others. HIMYM was an offender more than most because it had such a clear direction, since the very first episode we knew it was about a guy who would eventually meet the love of his life. This clear sense of direction became muddied as the seasons dragged on and more and more episodes felt like filler, to keep the story from finishing too quickly.
I want a mix, TV shows that don’t drag on, they know when they are done and finish properly, but at the same time, they go on long enough to reach their full potential instead of finishing too soon. That is in a perfect world however… who knows if that will ever happen.
I have played almost every Xbox One game that has been released, Fifa 14, Forza 5, CoD Ghosts, Battlefield 4, AC Black Flag, NFS Rivals, Titanfall and Thief as well as others. Of these games only Forza and Fifa have been games I keep going back to, this is a problem I have noticed with a lot of games recently. I buy a new game and I love it, for about a week, by then I have basically beaten it and am all but completely finished with it. I find this disappointing, especially since my wallet is starting to hate me. I want more games like Skyrim, I put at least 200 hours into that game and rarely was I bored. I want more open-world games or at least more games with more to do or more to unlock. This revelation has become even more clear after playing Titanfall. A shooter such as Titanfall needs lots to in the multiplayer section of the game, especially since there isn’t even a singleplayer. Unlocks are a driving force for multiplayer especially in shooters, Battlefield 4 for example had over a hundred different unlocks, Titanfall has I think 15 weapons in total, not a lot, and even less in terms of attachments, I want more, I want more choice, not one of each type of weapon. I want to enjoy Titanfall so badly and it is really fun but after 10 hours I find myself bored, I want to keep playing but unless I’m with a friend I find it difficult without something to work towards. Even if it’s something like the medals in Battlefield something would be better. Titanfall was and is a great game, but when compared to its competition I am finding that it falls short in some ways especially when considering that it is a next gen title. I see the “next gen-ness” in gameplay but not in scope, or graphics for that matter.
Titanfall is not the only game I am getting bored of, Thief and CoD and NFS Rivals, all of them were a letdown, I finished most in less than a week and moved on. I find myself constantly looking to the months ahead where the big open world titles will be arriving, they show such promise for hours and hours of fun. Games like Destiny, Watchdogs, Dragon Age Inquisition, The Division and Dying Light, these all are terribly promising and as much as I want to be excited I’m also nervous. I want to be excited but I was excited about most of the games that have been released in the last few months and been let down in some way or another. I want to stop having to look ahead for the next big title; I want a few games that I can play for months or at the very least weeks rather than days.
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